Some of the first reactions you’ll hear connected to cursive are It’s so frustrating; It takes so much time, I can’t read anything!
Cursive is one of the most controversial handwriting topics ever. Some think it should not be in the school curriculum. Others will tell you it’s the best thing that’s happened to them in school.
Which one is it? Let’s unpack it in this short article.
A Little History of the Cursive
What we know as modern cursive closely matches the handwriting style that started in Ancient Greece and Rome. Some historians tell us that using the quill and ink made cursive the best choice at the time (before the 11th century). Writing in cursive allowed the quill tip to stay on the paper longer, which meant that the ink on the quill tip would not dry out quickly (the ink on the quill tip drying out fast was a challenge) and the writing would not make smears from trying to write one letter at a time. So, cursive first solved the problem of ink drying quickly, and by the 18th century, cursive became standardised.
Cursive writing continued to evolve in style until 1888 when the ballpoint pen was invented. The pen meant that the person writing did not have to worry about making a smear because the letters on paper dried very quickly. Soon, cursive grew less and less necessary, especially since people did not have to worry about careful penmanship (or handwriting).
By the 1960s, educators pushed for cursive to become mainstream again. They did so because they believed it could help with classroom learning. The move to restore cursive in the 1960s was not successful, and the use of cursive shrunk even more as typewriters and computers were invented. Computers and even smartphones in our modern society have made the need for handwriting less and less relevant. Still, many experts believe that cursive handwriting is an essential part of learning for everyone–from children to adults.
Benefits of Cursive Handwriting According to the Experts
Suzanne Baruch Asherson is an occupational therapist in the California area who, for the past 15 years, has conducted workshops for teachers, parents, and school administrators on how best to teach children readiness, writing, and literacy. Suzanne wrote in this New York Times article that the benefits of cursive writing go beyond writing itself. According to Suzanne, learning to write in cursive has the following benefits;
- Improved critical thinking and working memory
- Stimulates brain synapses
- Increases harmony in communication between left-right brain hemispheres (this benefit is absent from printing and typing).
- Improved concentration, comprehension, and spelling skills
- Improved motor skills and hand-eye coordination
One of the arguments against these benefits of cursive is that cursive is not in the Common Core State Standards. Suzanne addresses this argument by stating that the Common Core (you can download the Common Core for the English Language Arts document by clicking this link) only specifies testable skills in the classroom, not foundation skills such as handwriting or spelling. As of 2020, up to 21 U.S. states require cursive to be taught in schools, up from 14 states in 2016. Also, in the states that don’t require cursive, the school boards allow schools to include cursive classes if they wish.
Who Can Benefit from Cursive Writing Today?
Although many educators and parents are undecided on the cursive writing topic, the benefits of cursive writing are clear and can be super helpful to specific people, if not everyone. People with learning disabilities and other language-processing disorders have found reading and writing cursive valuable to their learning. Students with learning disabilities such as dyslexia can decode cursive writing better than print writing because of the unbroken flow of cursive writing.
There are some exceptions to these recorded benefits of cursive to people with dyslexia. However, these exceptions are linked with people with dyslexia reading cursive without a background in writingor practising cursive. Gaining these listed benefits of cursive also depend on practice to trigger muscle memory.
Students with ADHD (although not classified as a learning disability), which can affect learning, also report that writing in cursive helps them improve focus and concentration for extended periods.
Cursive Writing Beyond School
Students have argued that cursive writing is irrelevant beyond school. Still, the neurological benefits of cursive to these same students stick with them for a lifetime whether or not they ever write in cursive again. That said, cursive writing skill can be applied to signatures, and is required to be able to read several historical documents. Although educators, parents, or school boards get to decide, the benefits of cursive to learning development are clear.
What do you think about teaching or learning cursive? Let us know in the comment box below.
I hope this helps!